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I have a 4oin full HDTV and blue ray player at my home and currently use a 5.1 Sony home theater system for surround sound from 2004. I would like to update to and independent receiver/ amplifier 7.1 system and i have some ideas as for where to start but i'm looking for other opinions!

Thanks!

Well, I'm confused here. I have a 40" Samsung HDTV and would like to have a surround system installed. Sound bar with subwoofer or 5.1 Home theater system.
Based on your personal experience please drop your suggestions.

Price Range : 0

I want a new home theater system for my HDTV, but I have no experience with a speaker system and need some help.

What I want to do is have a speaker system hooked up to my HDTV somehow, so that I can use the entire surround sound system with WHATEVER is playing on my TV. For example, I have a PS3, Xbox360, PS2, etc. all hooked up to the HDTV. No matter what I'm playing or watching on the TV, I want to be able to use the speaker system. Even if Surround sound isn't available for the source (like a ps2) then I at least want to be able use the speakers in mono or front stereo so I have the bass quality. The reason I say all of that is because I have heard on some DVD Home Theater Systems you can only use the speakers when watching that DVD player that came with the system.

This is the system I am looking at:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Samsung+-+1000W+5.1-Ch.+DVD+Home+Theater+System/9761447.p?id=1218168619879&skuId=9761447

On my HDTV, I have a digital optical audio out port, a regular audio port, and an HDMI port free to use for the speaker system. Here is a picture of my ports on my TV model:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-media/product-gallery/B001U3Y8MW/ref=cm_ciu_pdp_images_1?ie=UTF8&index=1

Is it possible to achieve what I want with this system? If so, how would I do it and what would I need?

Ok so I'm pretty tech savvy, and can find my way around various tech products.

For example, I know:
-Higher megapixels in a camera does not necessarily make it better than a different model camera
-A 3ghz AMD processor isn't equal to a 3ghz Intel processor even if with the same number of cores
-Once you jump from 60hz to 120hz with HD displays, 240hz and above aren't that noticeably different from 120hz, even in shots where the camera is panning (to my eyes at least).

My weakness is when it comes to sound systems, or headphones. Anyway, I advised my mother on the purchase of an HDTV, but I am not exactly sure which sound system I should set her up with. I'm looking for something below 0. It needs to include a blu-ray player and I don't think 7.1 would be worth the additional price to her, so I'm sticking with 5.1.

Anyway, when it comes to surround sound, I'm pretty sure that more watts does not always equal louder, or better sound in all scenarios, but I'm not sure what else to look for. The problem is that I don't always have a good ear for sound so listening in a loud best buy or walmart isn't always helpful. Also, I am thinking about purchasing online and don't want to have to return anything.

What type of specs should I look for?
What are ohms and how do they come into play?
Is the only positive to a receiver be that she could hook up both the blu-ray player and cable to the same speaker system?
Would one of those home theaters in a box that come with the blu-ray player and speakers but without the receiver suffice?
Should I get the HTIB and add in a receiver, and if I do that, will the speakers sound any better?

Right now I'm thinking about telling her to get the LG LHB336. It just the blu-ray player and the 5.1 speakers with no receiver and claims to be 1100 watts.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/LG+-+5.1-Ch.+3D/Wi-Fi+Blu-ray+Home+Theater+System/2073075.p?id=1218308263968&skuId=2073075

Top 10 Home Theater System 2011 1. Onkyo HT-S3300 5.1-Channel Home Theater Receiver and Speaker Package (Black) www.amazon.com 2. Sony HT-SS370 Surround Sound Home Theater System, Black www.amazon.com 3. Onkyo HT-S6300 7.1-Channel Home Theater Receiver and Speaker Package with iPod Dock www.amazon.com 4. Panasonic SC-BT230 5.1 Surround Sound System www.amazon.com 5. Sony HTSS360 5.1 channel Home Theater System (Black) www.amazon.com 6. Onkyo HT-S5300 7.1-Channel Home Theater Receiver and Speaker Package with iPod Dock (Black) www.amazon.com 7. Denon DHT-591BA Home Theater System with Denon AV Receiver and Boston Acoustics 5.1 Speaker Package (Black) www.amazon.com 8. Yamaha YHT-393BL 5.1 Channel 500 Watt HTiB System (Each, Black) www.amazon.com 9. Onkyo HT-S7300 7.1-Channel Home Theater Receiver and Speaker Package with iPod Dock www.amazon.com 10. Sony BDV-HZ970W Blu-ray Player Home Entertainment System [3D Compatible] www.amazon.com

the projector will be an Optoma HD20 (1080p) and these speakers need to connect to that, and i don't know how it works but i want to play ps3 and use it's blu-ray feature, i would like to watch Dish hdtv on it. i want everything to be full HD. if you have any suggestions for a 1080p projector with multiple HDMI inputs or premium sound system (i prefer Bose) please let me know

I have a surround sound system and an HDTV, and an xbox 360 of course. I have the TV hooked to the HD cable box with an HDMI cable in one port, and the xbox 360 hooked to the TV via HDMI cable in another port. I have the surround sound home theater (5 speakers and subwoofer) hooked to the TV via audio jacks (red and white). The TV sound comes through the home theater just fine, but I can't figure out how to get the xbox 360 sound to come through the home theater.

What happens is when I pop in a DVD or game, the regular TV sound comes through the home theater, even when I switch to the other HDMI channel where the game is displayed. There are no audio jacks on my xbox, and the spot where the color stream cables plug in is blocked by the HDMI cable. So what do I do? All I want to do is watch a movie with surround sound. sigh. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
I should add that my home theater system has limited connections (no fiber optic). It has two sets of audio jacks (red and white - main and aux), and has one audio in jack (green) in the front. No other connection possibilities.

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I am in the market for a new home stereo receiver. My last receiver and cd deck was an old Pioneer circa 1996 (passed down from my father). Since the mid 90's a lot has changed within the tech world and I am afraid to say that I am a bit behind. I do have a new Dell computer and LG LED HDTV with HDMI capability. I am assuming I can run this through a newer receiver, but what kind of features should I look for in a receiver that are available for my 0 price range? Is 1080p UPCONVERSION available and affordable with today's recievers? I would use the new receiver primarily for my home theater system with my HDTV and I feel that my dvds and movies streamed from my ccomputer would look wonderful if they could be upconverted through a receiver. Thanks for the help!